5 Things You Need to Know …. about Fake Tan Removal

We should all be educated enough now to know that a fake tan is the ONLY form of tan that is “healthy”. A natural sun tan is not only aging but also very damaging to the structure and health of our skin. One of the downsides to using a fake tan is that they can become rather unappealing as they fade or we want to remove them. The best way to avoid that hideous patchy tan is to remove it and apply a fresh one before the signs of wear show.

Pinterest and social media love to share DIY recipes for making your own fake tan removal solution but is it safe? Are household cleaners or foods from the grocery store the most effective method? I asked professional makeup artist and co-founder of ANTHEIA Beauty, Brie Stevenson, to give us the hard truths. If you wear fake tan, you need to read this!

1. Cleansing, toning and moisturising your entire body is just as important as your face, especially when fake tanning.

The skin is the largest growing organ which needs as much TLC as the face does. In terms of fake-tanning, the anti-aging and tanning industry is worth billions of dollars, yet women and men are taking to their skin with coarse mitts and products not realising the damage they are doing. Cleansing, tone and moisturise your face daily should be aligned with doing the same for the entire body, especially after putting it through the stress of self-tanning.

2. Don’t rely on home remedies…

Most home remedies are useless, and have the potential to even be dangerous. The two commonly touted ones are:

Lemon juice, sugar or bicarb soda
The acidic content in lemons makes lemon juice combined with these ingredients a completely natural solution to self-tan removal – or at least that’s what some claim. Many have claimed rubbing the mixture on your skin and leaving it for a few minutes will work but this is not always the case. Besides the fact that lemon juice is way too acidic for the skin, this home remedy also is nowhere near the combination needed to remove the chemicals that omit a faux glow.

Baby oil or coconut oil
Another rumoured home remedy is applying baby oil or coconut oil to the skin and letting it soak into the topmost layer before scrubbing it off with a bath mitt. Unfortunately, coconut oil and especially baby oil is not concentrated especially for removal. It further hydrates the skin making the tan harder to remove and the outer layers of the skin will end up being harshly removed by a bath mitt instead. If this is being done often it can cause detrimental damage to the skin.

3. Household products are definitely not the answer to fake tan dilemmas!

JIF, Exit Mould and even Gumption have also been commonly spoken of in fake-tan removal. These products are harsh, abrasive and using chemicals on top of harsh exfoliating and scrubbing can cause extreme damage to the protective layers of the skin.

Streaks, spots and uneven colour from your tanner is commonly caused by dry skin and exfoliating won’t help blend in the colour. An uneven area caught right after applying fake tan can be fixed by quickly applying a natural-ingredient based makeup wipe to avoid further drying out your skin. You can also use a bronze, as a powder form to touch up small areas and wetting your brush before dipping in the bronzer for higher coverage. For larger areas, either use liquid bronzer or a bronzing spray.

5. How to avoid stained clothes and linen

Keep towels and clothes at a safe distance but if not possible, baggy harem pants or clothes will work too. Change bed sheets to dark linen the night before so the fake tan pigment does not darken your linen.

Chrissy Teigan shared her fake tan stained bed sheets on snapchat.

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About Brie Stevenson

Brie Stevenson

Brie is a professional makeup artist with an impressive client portfolio consisting of models and celebrities. Being the co-founder of ANTHEIA Beauty, she saw a gap in the beauty market whereby individuals were using fake tan more than ever, but there was no product effective and gentle enough for the skin to remove it. Her clients often suffered the effects of a patchy tan they struggled to remove, telling Brie that they had no choice but to resort to harsh household products. To finally free women from hours of scrubbing and soaking, Brie spent years trying every product on the market and DIY to find an answer – but nothing worked! She decided to team up with two professionals from the beauty industry and together they launched the next absolute beauty essential: ANTHEIA Fake Tan Remover and Liquid Micro Peel; a carefully designed two-step system to support every fake tanner in their routine.